UKIP fully support the motion before us today.The Family Fund provides an invaluable service to families with disabled children and it is highly regrettable that the Welsh Government took the decision to cut the fund. The loss of £5.5 million from the Family Fund in Wales means that thousands of families are being denied the kind of support that families in the rest of the UK enjoy.

I understand the Welsh Government’s assertion that they have to manage limited resources; however, when you announce that you are making £10 million available to develop flights between Cardiff and London Heathrow, I have to question the Welsh Government’s priorities. We are denying emergency help and respite to thousands of disabled children at the same time as we are trying to buy additional business for Cardiff Airport. I cannot agree with the Welsh Government’s decision on this. UKIP fully support what the Government are trying to do with Cardiff Airport, but in times when money is tight, we should not be trying to entice airlines to fly between Cardiff and Heathrow, especially not at the expense of disabled children. The £10 million the Welsh Government have set aside for the airport would pay for the Family Fund for the next six years. I’m not saying to cancel the route development, just postpone it until such time as we can afford it, and not press ahead at the expense of disabled children.

I urge the Welsh Government to reconsider. I will stand by the over 4,000 low-income families with disabled children affected by this decision. Carers Wales, Contact a Family Cymru and Learning Disability Wales are calling for the Welsh Government to reverse its decision and restore the Family Fund to, at the very least, its previous levels. UKIP will be rejecting the Welsh Government’s amendment and will be supporting the Welsh Conservatives’ amendment. I urge colleagues to do likewise. Let’s send out a clear message: austerity does not mean penalising the most vulnerable in our society. Thank you.